Smiles: Memoir of John Murray

After the calamitous affair of the Representative, Mr. Murray saw but little of the Disraeli family, but at the commencement of 1830, Mr. Benjamin Disraeli once more applied to him for an interview. Mr. Disraeli had, in the meanwhile, appeared as an author. He visited Germany in his eighteenth year, and on his return he proceeded to write the novel of ‘Vivian Grey,’ the first two volumes of which were published in 1826, and the third in the following year. The work was well received, and is now regarded as, in some measure, a prediction of his own future life. Mr. Murray, however, in whose mind the former episode was still fresh, was unwilling to accede to this request, and replied in the third person.

“Mr. Murray is obliged to decline at present any personal interview; but if Mr. Benjamin Disraeli is disposed to confide his MS. to Mr. Murray as a man of business, Mr. Disraeli is assured that the proposal will be entertained in every respect with the strictest honour and impartiality.”

I am sorry that Mr. Mitchell is out of town, because he is a person in whom you rightly have confidence; but from some observations he made to me the other day it is perhaps not to be regretted that he does not interfere in this business. As he has overrated some juvenile indiscretions of mine, I fear he is too friendly a critic.

Mr. Disraeli was about to make a prolonged journey abroad. Before he set out he again wrote to Mr. Murray:

“Mr. Murray acknowledges the receipt of Mr. Benjamin Disraeli’s polite letter of the 27th. Mr. Murray will be ready at all times to receive any MS. which Mr. B. Disraeli may think proper to confide to him. Mr. Murray hopes the result of Mr. Disraeli’s travels will complete the restoration of his health, and the gratification of his expectations.”

The MS. was accordingly sent to Mr. Milman, but as he was very ill at the time, and could not read it himself, but transferred it to his wife, much delay occurred in its perusal. Meanwhile, Mr. Disraeli became very impatient about the publication, and again wrote:—

I have been utterly inefficient for the last week, in a state of almost complete blindness; but am now, I trust,

* Mr. Disraeli was then a candidate, on the Radical side, for the Borough of Wycombe.

338

MEMOIRS OF JOHN MURRAY

nearly restored. Mrs. Milman, however, has read to me the whole of the MS. It is a very remarkable production—very wild, very extravagant, very German, very powerful, very poetical. It will, I think, be much read—as far as one dare predict anything of the capricious taste of the day—much admired, and much abused. It is much more in the Macaulay than in the Croker line, and the former is evidently in the ascendant. Some passages will startle the rigidly orthodox; the phrenologists will be in rapture. I tell you all this, that you may judge for yourself. One thing insist upon, if you publish it—that the title be changed. The whole beauty, of the latter part especially, is its truth. It is a rapid volume of travels, a ‘Childe Harold’ in prose; therefore do not let it be called “a Romance” on any account. Let those who will, believe it to be a real history, and those who are not taken in, dispute whether it is truth or fiction. If it makes any sensation, this will add to its notoriety ‘A Psychological Auto-Biography’ would be too sesquipedalian a title; but ‘My Life Psychologically Related,’ or ‘The Psychology of my Life,’ or some such title, might be substituted.

From the notice of “C. F.” in the Literary Gazette, which I received this morning, I imagine that Jerdan has either bribed the printer, or purloined some sheets. It is evident that he has only seen the last volume. It is unnecessary for me to observe that such premature notice, written in such complete ignorance of the work, can do no good. I think that he should be reprimanded, and his petty larceny arrested. I shall be in town on Tuesday.

I am going to dine with Baron D’Haussez, Baron de Haber, et hoc genus, to-day, and must report progress, otherwise they will think I am trifling with them. Have you determined on a title? What think you of ‘A Cure for the Ministerial Gallomania,’ and advertise, dedicated to Lord Grey. Pray decide. You are aware I have not yet received a proof. Affairs look awkward in France. Beware lest we are a day after the fair, and only annalists instead of prophets.

Mr. Disraeli was evidently intent upon the immediate publication of his work. On the following day he wrote again to Mr. Murray:—

J’espère que vous serez content de l’article de Times sur la ‘Gallomania.’ C’est un grand pas de fait. Il serait utile que le Standard et le Morning Post le copie en entière, avec des observations dans son sens. C’est à vous, mon cher Monsieur Murray, de soigner cet objet. J’ai infiniment regretté de ne m’être pas trouvé chez moi hier, lorsque vous êtes venu me voir, avec l’aimable Mr. Lockhart.

Il seroit aussi convenable de dire que la prophetic dans la lettre à My Lord Grey êtait assez juste: Allusion—“In less than a month we shall no doubt hear of their warm reception in the Provinces, and of some gratifying, perhaps startling, demonstrations of national gratitude.” Voyez, mon cher Monsieur, comme depuis 8 jours ces pauvres Députés qui ont vote pour le Ministre sont traités.

The next person whom we shall introduce to the reader was one who had but little in common with Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, except that, like him, he had at that time won but little of that world-wide renown which he was afterwards to achieve. This “writer of books,” as he described himself, was no other than Thomas Carlyle, who, when he made the acquaintance of Mr. Murray, had translated Goethe’s ‘Wilhelm Meister,’ written the ‘Life of Schiller,’ and several articles in the Reviews; but was not yet known as a literary man of mark. He was living among the bleak, bare moors of Dumfriesshire at Craigenputtock, where he was consoled at times by visits from Jeffrey and Emerson, and by letters from Goethe, where he wrote that strange and rhapsodical book ‘Sartor Resartus,’ containing a considerable portion of his own experience. After the MS. was nearly finished, he wrapt it in a piece of paper, put it in his pocket, and started for Dumfries, on his way to London.

Lord Jeffrey, then Lord Advocate, recommended Carlyle to try Murray, because, “in spite of its radicalism, he would be the better publisher.” Lord Jeffrey wrote to Mr. Murray on the subject, without mentioning Carlyle’s name:—

“Lord Jeffrey, who thinks highly of the author’s abilities, ventures to beg Mr. Murray to look at the MS. now left with him, and to give him, as soon as possible, his opinion as to its probable success on publication; and also to say whether he is willing to undertake it, and on what terms.”

Carlyle, who was himself at the time in London, called upon Mr. Murray, and left with him a portion of the manuscript, and an outline of the proposed volume.

When Carlyle called a second time Murray was not at home, but he found that the parcel containing the MS. had not been opened. He again wrote to the publisher on the following Friday:—

I have seen the Lord Advocate [Jeffrey], who informs me that you are willing to print an edition of 750 copies of my MS., at your own cost, on the principle of what is called “half profits;” the copyright of the book after that to belong to myself.

Mr. Murray was willing to undertake the risk of publishing 750 copies, and thus to allow the author to exhibit his literary wares to the public. Even if the whole edition had sold, the pecuniary results to both author and publisher would have been comparatively trifling, but as the copyright was to remain in the author’s possession, and he would have been able to make a much better bargain with the future editions, the terms may be considered very liberal, having regard to the exceptional nature of the work. Mr. Carlyle, however, who did not know the usual custom of publishers, had in the meantime taken away his MS. and offered it to other publishers in London, evidently to try whether he could not get a better bid for his book. Even Lord Jeffrey thought it “was too much of the nature of a rhapsody, to command success or respectful attention.” The publishers thought the same. Carlyle took the MS. to Fraser of Regent Street, who offered to publish it if Carlyle would give him a sum not exceeding £150 sterling. He had already been to Longmans & Co., offering them his ‘German Literary History,’ but they declined to publish the work, and he now offered them his ‘Sartor Resartus,’ with a similar result. He also tried Colburn and Bentley, but without success. When Murray, then at Ramsgate, heard that Carlyle had been offering his book to other publishers, he wrote to him:—

Mr. Murray, accordingly, on his return to London, submitted the MS. to one of his literary advisers, probably Lockhart, whose reply was not very satisfactory. He thought it might be a translation. The work displayed, here and there, some felicity of thought and expression, with considerable fancy and knowledge, but whether or not it would take with the public seemed doubtful. Mr. Murray thought it better, in the circumstances, to return the MS. to Mr. Carlyle, and he wrote to him accordingly. Carlyle answered as follows:—

As Mr. Carlyle was unwilling to entertain the idea of taking his manuscript home with him, and none of the other publishers would accept it, he urgently requested Mr. Murray again to examine it, and come to some further decision. “While I, with great readiness,” he said, “admit your views, and shall cheerfully release you from all engagement, or shadow of engagement, with me in regard to it: the rather, as it seems reasonable for me to expect some higher remuneration for a work that has cost me so much effort, were it once fairly examined, such remuneration as was talked of between us can, I believe, at all times be procured.” He then proposed “a quite new negotiation, if you incline to enter on such;” and requested his decision. “If not, pray have the goodness to cause my papers to be returned with the least possible delay.” The MS. was at once returned; and Carlyle acknowledged its receipt:—

Mr. Carlyle returned to Craigenputtock with his manuscript in his pocket; very much annoyed and disgusted by the treatment of the London publishers. Shortly after his arrival at home, he wrote to Mr. Macvey Napier, then editor of the Edinburgh Review:—

It is a striking contrast to pass from Carlyle the recluse, with all his Scottish keenness for driving a bargain, to the lively and spirited man of the world, Captain F. B. Head, who was not addicted to haggling over a price. His first book had proved a success, and had given him that encouragement which to a man of versatile and ready wit is an irresistible incentive to further literary efforts. Some authors, like Hope, with his ‘Anastasius,’ and Beckford, with his ‘Vathek,’ stop with their first novel, and never write another; but Head went on writing, because he felt compelled to write. He was, indeed, at home on most subjects: from Rapid Rides across the Pampas, to Stokers and Pokers on a Railway; from Mining to Waterloo;* from the Red Man to the Printer’s Devil; from Steam to to Electricity and the Post Office; from governing Paupers to governing a Province. He was a man full of humour and of immense vitality. Once he wrote to Mr. Murray:—“I dined yesterday with Lord Clarendon, and drank one pint of wine; but I must have eaten a part of the Devil’s hind leg, for such a night as I passed it is impossible to tell you—as it was, I could not leave home to-day until 2; but when I called, you had just gone out. I will be with you to-morrow at 12 precisely.”

Before he had completed his ‘Life of Bruce,’ he proposed to visit Ireland, to observe the condition of the people. He asked Murray to give him 200 guineas for his MS., without reference to its size, and 100 guineas for his expenses. With these conditions Murray at once complied. His object in going to Ireland will be best explained by his own letter:—

Captain, now Major Head, started for Ireland in 1830; but he had scarcely reached Cork ere he was recalled to England, at once, upon business. It was not until twenty years had passed that he was able to accomplish his observations and inquiry into the state of Ireland.

A few months passed before Major Head had written out his hieroglyphics; and when he had finished, and had an interview with Murray, he wrote to him again:—

Mr. Murray at once agreed to Major Head’s proposals, The MS. was sent to press, and the book was published anonymously in 1833.

When Murray told him of the insertion of the article in the Quarterly, Head wrote (30 April, 1835):—

The interest aroused by the ‘Bubbles’ induced Mr. Murray to spend his summer holiday in 1835 in following in the footsteps of the “Old Man,” and paying a visit to the German watering-places which Head had so humorously described. In the middle of July he asked the Major for some information on the subject, and received the following reply:—

Leaving Mrs. Murray for a time at Schwalbach, Mr. Murray made a short excursion in order to be present at the great meeting of the German Association of Naturalists at Bonn, whence he wrote to his wife.

I was much amused with my first experience of a public dinner in Germany—their toasts, &c. The ladies stayed the whole time, and drank plentifully of champagne; one of them was pointed out as having taken no less than fourteen glasses! I sat near Mr. Nebel at dinner, who is very anxious to show me attention. This morning, after breakfast, I accompanied Torrie* to the General Meeting, where there were 500 gentlemen, and probably as many ladies, who had a kind of orchestra set apart for them behind the men. Every one has a number given him, and a chair with a corresponding number, so there was no disorder. As the meeting to-day was only for the receipt of communications in German, as soon as I had satisfied my eyes I came home to write. Mr. Hersser, Mr. and Mrs. Lyell, &c., were there. Mrs. Buckland is with the Professor, and is the only lady who is to accompany the expedition to-morrow, it being on their route to some other place. Torrie has just been here, and says that the party will consist of fifty gentlemen, chiefly geologists, who are to set out at 6 to-morrow in caravans for a certain distance, and are then to proceed in lighter carriages. Those who carry hammers are to walk. We sleep to-morrow at Ahrweiler; the next day, Sunday, proceed to the gardens of some prince, who gives a dinner to the whole party, and we return in the evening to Bonn. I am now going with Torrie to dine with the same party as yesterday, but at I o’clock instead of 2, to give us more time to make out an excursion afterwards to a beautiful little watering-place, of which a tower is seen on the Rhine opposite Drachenfels, called (oh for mine book!) Godesberg.

P.P.S.—Buckland has just risen to speak; applause from the assembled Society of 300 Germans.

Mr. Murray remained at the water-drinking village for the usual time, and returned home all the better for the change. On hearing of his arrival, Head wrote to him:—

While busy with his duties as Poor Law Commissioner in Kent, Head received a summons at midnight from Lord

* This whip is still in the possession of Mr. Murray.

MAJOR HEAD IN CANADA.

365

Glenelg, then Colonial Minister, requiring his immediate attendance in London. On his arrival, he waited on the minister, who thereupon offered him the appointment of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, which he reluctantly accepted. There was at that time much dissatisfaction in Canada, and differences occurred between the Lieutenant-Governor (then Sir John Colborne) and the Colonial Secretary as to the measures which ought to be adopted for allaying the turmoil. Major Head had already made his mark in England, and it was thought that, with his shrewdness, common sense, and knowledge of men and their ways, he might be able to quench the growing embers of discontent. The following are the letters from Major Head,—who was created a Baronet in 1837,—to Mr. Murray during his stay in Upper Canada.

Our success in this province made Papineau desperate, and I always prophesied that he would break, and not bend. He has done so, and, in my opinion, the game is completely up. All that is necessary here is, not to be afraid to tell the people the truth, for you can’t conceive with what avidity they feed upon it. I have just been over the whole province. On entering each township a number of people generally met me on horseback, as a guard of honour; but before we reached the principal towns they were generally an hour, and sometimes two hours behind me, and you cannot conceive how the Radicals have been upset by being totally unable to keep up with me. I have gained more popularity by riding fast over their own corduroy roads, and their own rickety bridges, than if I had preached to them on Political Economy for a year. Depend upon it, that the British Constitution has nothing to fear from the Canadas, and it is my opinion that we shall support rather than undermine it. There is nothing to fear from the example of the United States. We will show them the road yet.

Notwithstanding the confident hope expressed in these letters, Head’s difficulties in Upper Canada were not “completely over,” as he stated to Murray, but were only about to begin. Both Upper and Lower Canada were in a state of extreme political excitement. The Assembly of the Lower Province, under the leadership of Papineau, stopped the supplies for the payment of official salaries in 1833, and the Assembly of the Upper Province followed their example in 1836. Lower Canada, the population of which was mainly French, required that the Legislative Council should be made elective; while Upper Canada the inhabitants of which were English, required that the

368

MEMOIRS OF JOHN MURRAY

Executive Council should be made responsible to the Assembly. The Government at home, at the instance of Lord John Russell, opposed the Canadians, and treated their requests in a despotic manner. The Canadians were roused by this treatment; a meeting of the six counties was held at St. Charles, Lower Canada, to protest against the threats of the English Parliament to annihilate the fundamental laws of the colony, whereupon the Lower Canadians proceeded to take up arms, and a rebellion broke out.

The Earl of Gosford having resigned his position as Governor-General, and gone home, was superseded by Sir John Colborne as Military Governor. Sir Francis Head sent him all the troops under his command, and trusted entirely to the militia, and the loyalty of the majority of the people, for the defence of his own province. His conduct has been called Quixotic, but in this instance it was successful. The rebellion in Lower Canada was soon suppressed, but in December 1837, an unsuccessful attempt was made to seize the city of Toronto, Upper Canada. Shortly after, on the 29th of December, Colonel Macnab attacked and defeated the rebels on Navy Island, on the River Niagara; after which he seized the steamer Caroline, which had been engaged in carrying supplies of arms and ammunition across the river into Upper Canada, set her on fire, and sent her down the river and over the falls. The last letter received by Mr. Murray from Sir Francis Head, while in Canada, was as follows:—

In fact, Head’s reign was over. He did not agree with the Ministers at home, nor they with him, and accordingly, towards the end of 1837, he resigned his office of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and made all haste to return to London. The Earl of Durham was immediately after appointed Governor-General and High Commissioner for the adjustment of the affairs of the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada. Sir Francis Head had still a word, or rather many words, to say for himself respecting his government of Upper Canada, and before his return to England he requested that his ‘Vindication’ might be sent to the Times. It was accordingly forwarded with a note from Murray to the Editor, Mr. Barnes, with whom he was personally acquainted:—

The Quarterly was always open to Sir Francis, whose quickness, versatility, and keenness of observation were never at a loss for a good subject. An entirely new one was now suggested to him—that of Roads and Railroads. He wrote to Mr. Murray:—

“I thought I had skinned poor Lord Durham, but I find you have peppered and grilled him. He really is a fallen angel, or rather he has no more feathers in his wings than a young rook. It is well, however, that he is safe at home with us, for he would have done irreparable mischief had he remained at Quebec.”

Head’s ‘Narrative of his Administration in Upper Canada,’ went through three editions in the course of the year. “I was glad,” he said, “to hear the child’s voice crying in the Times this morning. The extract was the very best that could be given to create an appetite.”

“You say you cannot account for the Times being so lukewarm. I can. It has never forgiven me (and it never will) the article I wrote on ‘English Charity.’ Whenever the Times has been forced to oppose me it has done so with its usual talent and power; but depend upon it that my Poor Law Memorandum manet alia mente repostum. What is most extraordinary is the article in my favour which lately appeared in the Globe. That paper, after defending me, says that my ‘Narrative’ will be a ‘useful appendix to Lord Durham’s Report’—a butcher’s knife sticking in a pig’s throat might just as much be called ‘a useful appendix.’”

I cannot help thanking you for having sent us such a shower of Quarterly Reviews. My Hens are quite delighted at the review of my ‘Narrative,’ and chuckle with great pride. Although I cannot presume to crow on the occasion, yet I may tell you that I feel deeply gratified at the view that has been taken of my services. It will render me a service at a moment I require it. It is certainly not only kindly but very ably done.* It not only hits the Ministers very hard, but it tickles them so, that it will, I think, make them laugh out of the wrong sides of their mouths, while the public will laugh at them out of the other. I think of coming to London to-morrow, if so, you will see me.

≪ PREV

NEXT ≫

Archibald Acheson, second earl of Gosford (1776-1849) Son of the first earl (d. 1807); educated at Christ Church, Oxford, he was an Irish representative peer and Governor-in-chief of British North America (1835-38).

Thomas Barnes [Strada] (1785-1841) The contemporary of Leigh Hunt at Christ's Hospital; he was editor of The Times from 1817.

William Thomas Beckford (1760-1844) English novelist and aesthete, son of the Jamaica planter and Lord Mayor William Beckford (1709-1770), author of Vathek: An Arabian Tale, surreptitiously translated and published in 1786. He was MP for Wells (1784-90) and Hindon (1790-94, 1806-20).

Richard Bentley (1794-1871) London bookseller who in 1819 partnered with his brother Samuel (1785-1868) and in 1829 formed an unhappy partnership with Henry Colburn that was dissolved in 1832.

Mary Buckland [née Morland] (1797-1857) Geological illustrator and curator, wife of the geologist William Buckland whom she married in 1825.

William Buckland (1784-1856) Professor of mineralogy at Oxford (1813), president of the Geological Society (1824), and dean of Westminster (1845-56).

Sir John Fox Burgoyne, first baronet (1782-1871) The illegitimate son of General John Burgoyne; he was a military engineer who served under Wellington in the Peninsular War.

George Gordon Byron, sixth Baron Byron (1788-1824) The author of Childe Harold and Don Juan.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and man of letters; he translated Goethe's Wilhelm Meister (1824) and published Sartor Resartus (1833-34).

George Catlin (1796-1872) American painter who specialized in Indian portraits; he published North American Indian Portfolio (1845).

William Clowes (1779-1847) The son of a Chichester schoolmaster, he was the first printer to develop the steam press, from 1823.

Henry Colburn (1785-1855) English publisher who began business about 1806; he co-founded the New Monthly Magazine in 1814 and was publisher of the Literary Gazette from 1817.

John Colborne, first baron Seaton (1778-1863) He fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo; he was major-general (1825) and governor of Upper Canada (1830).

John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) Secretary of the Admiralty (1810) and writer for the Quarterly Review; he edited an elaborate edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson (1831).

Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881) The son of Isaac D'Israeli, English novelist and prime minister (1867, 1874).

Thomas Drummond (1797-1840) Educated at Edinburgh University, he was an inventor of scientific instruments, chairman of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission (1831), and under-secretary of Ireland (1835).

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Harvard-educated American poet, essayist, and philosopher.

Giovanni Battista Falcieri [Tita] (1798-1874) Byron's gondolier and afterwards his valet. He became a servant of Isaac D'Israeli (1832).

James Fraser (1805 c.-1841) Of Regent Street, London bookseller; from 1830 he published Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, playwright, and novelist; author of The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) and Faust (1808, 1832).

Charles Grant, baron Glenelg (1778-1866) Educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn, he was a member of the Speculative Society, MP, Irish chief secretary (1818), and colonial secretary (1835), created Baron Glenelg in 1835.

Charles Grey, second earl Grey (1764-1845) Whig statesman and lover of the Duchess of Devonshire; the second son of the first earl (d. 1807), he was prime minister (1831-34).

Baron von Haber (1832 fl.) German Jewish financier who collaborated with Benjamin Disraeli on Gallomania (1832). He is possibly a Solomon von Haber (1760-1839).

Baron Charles Le Mercher de Longpré d' Haussez (1778-1854) French minister of the Navy (1830), the author of Great Britain in 1833, 2 vols (1833).

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) Engineer, governor of Upper Canada (1835-37), and contributor to the Quarterly Review.

Thomas Hope (1769-1831) Art collector and connoisseur, the son of a wealthy Amsterdam merchant and author of the novel Anastasius (1819) which some thought to be a work by Byron. His literary executor was William Harness.

Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (1773-1850) Scottish barrister, Whig MP, and co-founder and editor of the Edinburgh Review (1802-29). As a reviewer he was the implacable foe of the Lake School of poetry.

William Jerdan (1782-1869) Scottish journalist who for decades edited the Literary Gazette; he was author of Autobiography (1853) and Men I have Known (1866).

John George Lambton, first earl of Durham [Radical Jack] (1792-1840) After tutoring by Francis Hodgson and Thomas Beddoes and service in the dragoons he was a Whig MP (1813-28) and governor of the British provinces in North America (1838).

John Liston (1776 c.-1846) English comic actor who performed at the Haymarket and Covent Garden.

John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854) Editor of the Quarterly Review (1825-1853); son-in-law of Walter Scott and author of the Life of Scott 5 vols (1838).

Thomas Norton Longman (1771-1842) A leading London publisher whose authors included Southey, Wordsworth, Scott, and Moore.

Louis Philippe, king of the French (1773-1850) The son of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans; he was King of France 1830-48; he abdicated following the February Revolution of 1848 and fled to England.

Sir Charles Lyell, first baronet (1797-1875) Scottish geologist educated at Exeter College, Oxford; he was author of Principles of Geology (1830-33) and The Antiquity of Man (1863).

Thomas Babington Macaulay, baron Macaulay (1800-1859) English poet, critic, and historian, author of The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, 5 vols (1849-61).

Sir Allan Napier MacNab, baronet (1798-1862) Born in Niagara, Ontario, he was a leader in the Canadian militia and associate of Francis Bond Head.

Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868) Educated at Eton and Brasenose College, Oxford, he was a poet, historian and dean of St Paul's (1849) who wrote for the Quarterly Review.

Mary Ann Milman [née Cockell] (1853 fl.) Daughter of Lieutenant-General William Cockell; she married Henry Hart Milman in 1824.

Thomas Mitchell (1783-1845) Son of a riding master; after study at Christ's Hospital and Pembroke College, Cambridge; Mitchell worked as a tutor for Thomas Hope, wrote for the Examiner and Quarterly Review, and translated Aristophanes.

Anne Murray [née Elliot] (1782-1854) The daughter of the Scottish bookseller Charles Elliot; she married the second John Murray in 1807.

John Murray II (1778-1843) The second John Murray began the Quarterly Review in 1809 and published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.

John Murray III (1808-1892) The son of the Anak of publishers; he successfully carried on the family publishing business.

Macvey Napier (1776-1847) Scottish barrister, editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and from 1829 editor of the Edinburgh Review.

Carl Nebel (1805-1855) German architect and artists who did drawings of the Mexican-American War.

Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871) Leader of the radical party in Canada seeking independence from the colonial government.

Owen Rees (1770-1837) London bookseller; he was the partner of Thomas Norton Longman and friend of the poet Thomas Moore.

John Arthur Roebuck (1801-1879) English MP for Bath (1832) born at Madras and educated in Canada; he was a member of the Reform Club (1836-64) who published in Westminster Review and Edinburgh Review.

John Russell, first earl Russell (1792-1878) English statesman, son of John Russell sixth duke of Bedford (1766-1839); he was author of Essay on the English Constitution (1821) and Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe (1824) and was Prime Minister (1865-66).

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) French diplomat; he was foreign minister under Napoleon.

Adolphe Thiers (1797-1877) French statesman, journalist, and historian; he was minister of the interior under Louis Philippe (1832-34).

Thomas Jameson Torrie (d. 1858) Scottish geologist, the nephew of Robert Jameson (1774-1854).

John Charles Villiers, third earl of Clarendon (1757-1838) Younger son of the first earl of the second creation; he was envoy to the Portuguese court (1808-1810) and was MP for Old Sarum (1784-90), Dartmouth (1790-1802), Tain burghs (1802-05), and Queenborough (1807-12, 1820-24); he succeeded his brother in 1824.

Arthur Wellesley, first duke of Wellington (1769-1852) Soldier and statesman; commander in the Peninsular Campaign (1809-1813), he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo and was prime minister (1828-1830).

The Edinburgh Review, or Critical Journal. (1802-1929). Founded by Francis Jeffery, Sydney Smith, and Henry Brougham, the Edinburgh Review was for decades a principal organ of Whig opinion in Britain.

Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country. (1830-1882). Edited by William Maginn, assisted by John Abraham Herauld.

Globe and Traveller. (1803-1922). A London evening newspaper; the Globe incorporated the Traveller in 1822 and was edited by Robert Torrens and Walter Coulson (1822-25) and Gibbons Merle (1825-30).

Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, etc. (1817-1862). Edited by William Jerdan to 1850, the Literary Gazette was the most successful of the weekly literary newspapers.

Morning Post. (1772-1937). A large-circulation London daily that published verse by many of the prominent poets of the romantic era. John Taylor (1750–1826), Daniel Stuart (1766-1846), and Nicholas Byrne (d. 1833) were among its editors.

The Quarterly Review. (1809-1967). Published by John Murray, the Quarterly was instigated by Walter Scott as a Tory rival to the Edinburgh Review. It was edited by William Gifford to 1824, and by John Gibson Lockhart from 1826 to 1853.

The Representative. (1826). A failed daily paper backed by John Murray issued from 25 January to 29 July 1826.

The Standard. (1827-). London evening paper edited by Stanley Lees Giffard assisted by Alaric Alexander Watts; it was continued as The Evening Standard.

The Times. (1785-). Founded by John Walter, The Times was edited by Thomas Barnes from 1817 to 1841. In the romantic era it published much less literary material than its rival dailies, the Morning Chronicle and the Morning Post.

The Traveller. (1801-1822). A London daily newspaper edited by Edward Quin and Walter Coulson; Leigh Hunt was a contributor.

William Thomas Beckford (1760-1844) An Arabian Tale, from an unpublished Manuscript: with Notes critical and explanatory [Vathek]. (London: J. Johnson, 1786). Anonymously published in the translation by Samuel Henley who contributed the notes; first published in the original French in 1791 as Les caprices et les malheurs du calife Vathek, traduit de l’arabe.

George Gordon Byron, sixth Baron Byron (1788-1824) Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: a Romaunt. (London: John Murray, 1812-1818). A burlesque topographical poem in Spenserian stanzas; Cantos I-II were published in 1812, III in 1816, and IV in 1818.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) The Life of Friedrich Schiller: comprehending an Examination of his Works. (London: Taylor and Hessey, 1825).

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Sartor Resartus: the Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh, in Three Books. (London: Chapman and Hall, 1831).

John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) “Colonial Government—Head's Narrative and Lord Durham's Report” in Quarterly Review. Vol. 63 (March 1839): 457-525.

Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881) Contarini Fleming: a Psychological Auto-biography. 4 vols (London: John Murray, 1832).

Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881) England and France; or, a Cure for the Ministerial Gallomania. (London: John Murray, 1832).

Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881) Home Letters written by the late Earl of Beaconsfield in 1830 and 1831. (London: J. Murray, 1885). Several later editions.

Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881) Lord Beaconsfield's Letters 1830-1852: New edition of 'Home Letters' and 'Correspondence with his Sister' with additional Letters and Notes. (London: J. Murray, 1887).

Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881) Vivian Grey. 5 vols (London: Henry Colburn, 1826-1827). The author's first novel, which attracted considerable attention.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) Wilhelm Meister. (1777-1829). A series of novels, translated into English by Thomas Carlyle.

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) “British Policy” in Quarterly Review. Vol. 64 (October 1839): 462-512.

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau. (London: J. Murray, 1834). An account of the German spa of Langen-Schwalbach; reprinted several times.

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) The Life of Bruce, the African Traveller. (London: J. Murray, 1830). Several times reprinted.

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) A Narrative of the Rebellion in the Canadas. (London: J. Murray, 1838). With Sir John Colburne.

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) Rough Notes taken during some Rapid Journeys across the Pampas and among the Andes. (London: J. Murray, 1826).

Sir Francis Bond Head, first baronet (1793-1875) “Railroads in Ireland” in Quarterly Review. Vol. 63 (January 1839): 1-60.

Thomas Hope (1769-1831) Anastasius: or, Memoirs of a Greek; written at the close of the Eighteenth Century. (London: J. Murray, 1819). A Byronic romance that went into a third edition by 1820.

James Kenney (1780-1849) Love, Law, and Physic; a Farce. (London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, 1812).

John George Lambton, first earl of Durham [Radical Jack] (1792-1840) The Report and Despatches of the Earl of Durham, Her Majesty's High Commissioner and Governor-general of British North America. (London: Ridgeways, 1839).

INFORMATION FROM TEI HEADER

Source Description:

Author: Smiles, Samuel, 1812-1904

Title: Memoir of John Murray 2 Vols (London: John Murray, 1891).

Electronic Edition:

Series: Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org

Encoding Description: Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed. Obvious and unambiguous compositors’ errors have been silently corrected.

Markup and editing by: David Hill Radcliffe

Completed April 2009

Publication Statement:

Publisher: Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Tech

Availability: Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License